Currents

Three Commission Properties Accredited

Following a rigorous professional peer review, three Commission properties were recently awarded accreditation by the American Association of Museums (AAM), the national service organization for museums. This recognition certifies that institutions are not only meeting professional stan­dards of operation, but that they offer quality service while demonstrating effi­cient management and effective use of resources. Of the country’s more than 5,000 museums, only 558 institutions enjoy the prestigious distinction of AAM accreditation.

Accredited by the AAM were Drake Well Museum, Venango County, the site of the world’s first successful oil well; Ephrata Cloister, Lancaster County, one of America’s earliest communal societies whose complex of unique medieval-style build­ings still remains; and Pennsbury Manor, Bucks County, the re-created seven­teenth-century country plantation of founder William Penn on the banks of the Delaware River. Commission properties previously accredited by the AAM include Old Economy Village, Beaver County, the Penn­sylvania Farm Museum of Landis Valley, Lancaster County; and the William Penn Memorial Museum, the state museum located in center-city Harrisburg.

Historic Railroad Photographs Given to University

A collection of more than 16,000 photographic images depicting the history of the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad (P&LE), from 1903 through 1970, has recently been given to the University of Pittsburgh’s Archives of Industrial Society.

The P&LE began operating in 1879 on the Ohio River north of Pittsburgh, financed in part by the Harmony Society, a communal religious sect located at Economy (and whose textiles are fea­tured in this issue). By the turn of the century, the P&LE – which affiliated with the New York Central system in 1883 – was one of the principal rail routes in the eastern United States. Following the Penn Central system bankruptcy, the P&LE obtained trackage rights in 1976 over former Penn Central lines to Ashtabula Harbor, Ohio, on Lake Erie, and through Sharon to Shenango, Pennsylvania. The railroad has been privately owned since 1979 and continues to serve the heavily industrialized areas of Pittsburgh and Youngstown, Ohio.

Photographic records of the P&LE, together with other historical documents and business records, chronicle railroad operations, as well as various aspects of life in the cities, small towns and rural areas served by the P&LE in south­western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio. The bulk of the collection is made up of negatives, many of which are large glass plates. The collection also includes a number of prints, the most recent of which are the work of nationally-known photo­documentarian David Plowden. Complementing the still photographs, more than 2,000 feet of 16mm movie film depict railroad work crews in the 1930s, various construction projects and a parade of boats on the Monongahela River.

The collection will be made available to the public by the Archives of Industrial Society, headquartered in the university’s Hillman Library, upon completion of technical processing.

Preservation Revolving Fund Acquires First Property

The Preservation Fund of Pennsylvania, Inc., a private, non-profit revolving fund for historic preservation in Pennsylvania, acquired its first historic property in September – Williamsport’s Peter Herdic House. Peter Herdic was a prosperous Williamsport businessman and his house, located in a section of the city known as “Millionaire’s Row,” is one of the area’s earliest and more pretentious structures. Built in the Italian Villa style, the house features bracketed eaves, ornate window moldings, a large cupola, and “Egyptian lotus” columns on one of the first­-floor porches. Since the time of its construction, the West Fourth Street property has been recognized as an example of exceptional architectural style and con­struction.

The Herdic House was purchased from a Wil­liamsport preservation organ­ization which had, during the two years it owned the property, reconstructed the cupola, the roof and most of the windows. An intrusive modern addition was also removed and today the structure stands much as it did more than 125 years ago.

The Preservation Fund is now seeking a preservation­-minded buyer for the Peter Herdic House. Because the building is included in a National Register Historic District, substantial tax credits are available for further rehabilitation of the property. The Peter Herdic House has also been identified as a priority project to receive federal Jobs Act appropriations for restoration and reuse. The Fund hopes to “recycle” the house to a local developer who will be eligible to take advantage of the federal tax incentives, the Jobs Bill appropriations, or both.

Persons interested in learning more about the Peter Herdic House or the Fund’s general programs may write: The Preservation Fund of Pennsylvania, Inc., 2470 Kissel Hill Rd., Lancaster, PA 17601.

“Lost World” of Early Filmmaker Recreated

The early days of the motion picture industry will be recounted in a major exhibit, “Peddler of Dreams: Siegmund Lubin and the Creation of the Motion Pic­ture Industry,” opening in May [1984] at the National Museum of American Jewish History, Independence Mall East, 55 North Fifth St., Philadelphia. Lubin, a young immigrant who arrived in America in 1876, came to be well known as the “Rocke­feller of the Movies.”

Siegmund Lubin was a skilled and highly successful optician who counted Presi­dent Grant as a client. In 1896, he began experimenting with lenses of a dif­ferent sort – with “Life Motion Picture” cameras and projectors – and by 1904 had established one of the world’s most extensive networks for the manufacture, distribution and exhibition of motion pictures. Before World War I, the Lubin studios in Phila­delphia and near Valley Forge were among the largest, most technically advanced in the world. Thousands of films poured from these and other studios which Lubin established in Jacksonville, Florida; Phoenix, Arizona; Newport, Rhode Island; and San Francisco, California. Among the still­-remembered stars appearing in Lubin films were comedian Oliver Hardy, Marie Dressler, Jacob Adler and the notorious Evelyn Nesbit Thaw. A tragic film vault ex­plosion in 1914 destroyed every master negative of Lubin’s films and, in the process, virtually burned the Lubin studios from the records of history.

An environmental set­ting re-creating an early nickelodeon theater atmos­phere and the Lubinville studio space will be featured in the exhibit. Rare Lubin film footage, posters, photographs, costumes and other artifacts, augmented by personal recollections of those who knew and worked with Lubin, will be used to explore the lost world of early filmmaking “when Hollywood was in Philadelphia.” A videotape presentation tracing the career of film pioneer and movie mogul, “Pop” Lubin, supplements the exhibition.

Partially funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Hu­manities, “Peddler of Dreams” is co-sponsored by the Philadelphia Free Library’s Theatre Collection/Lubin Archive. The exhibit will continue through November [1984] and regular mu­seum hours are: Monday through Thursday, 10 A.M. to 5 P.M.; Sunday, noon to 5 P.M. Admission is $1.50 for adults, $1.25 for students and senior citizens, $1 for children under 12, and free for museum members. For further information, tele­phone the National Museum of American Jewish History at (215) 923-3811.

Philadelphia Museum of Art Acquires Important Collection

Twelve extremely signifi­cant paintings and a dis­tinguished piece of American furniture once belonging to the John Cadwalader family of Philadelphia have recently been acquired by the Philadelphia Museum of Art and installed in the Powell House drawing room, one of the museum’s finest American period rooms, and in an adjacent gallery on the institution’s second floor. The collection boasts five portraits by Charles Willson Peale commissioned in 1770 and 1771 by Cadwalader, appointed brigadier general of the Pennsylvania Militia in 1776. The paintings originally hung in the Cadwalader house, one of Philadelphia’s grandest residences which was demolished in the early nineteenth century. Painted in the direct and sympathetic fashion characteristic of PeaJe’s best work, the portraits of the eminent colonial family established the artist’s reputation in America. The piece of furniture accompanying the paintings, a sumptuously carved mahogany card table commissioned by Cadwalader in 1770 from Philadelphia craftsmen, Randolph and Courtenay, appears in Peale’s celebrated oil, “The John Cadwalader Family,” an intimate portrait of Cad­walader, his wife and baby. The table, one of a pair, is widely regarded as one of the finest examples of eighteenth-century American furniture.

In addition to the Peale portraits, the collection features three portraits by Thomas Sully, Philadelphia’s leading portrait painter in the early nineteenth century; three portraits by Gilbert Stuart, well known for his likenesses of George Washing­ton; and a portrait by Jacob Eichholtz, an artist from Lancaster who found many patrons in Philadelphia in the early nineteenth century.

The Cadwalader Collection­ – with the exception of “The John Cadwalader Family,” which will travel to the Louvre in Paris this spring as part of an exhibition entitled “The New World: Master­pieces of American Paint­ing” – may be seen during regular visiting hours at the museum. Information concerning visiting hours and admission rates is available by writing the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Parkway at 26th St., Philadelphia, PA 19101, or by telephoning (215) 763-8100.

Mobile Museum on the Road Again

The Mobile Museum of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, a tractor trailer converted to house small traveling exhibits, has recently been outfitted with a new exhibit entitled “Pennsylvania Architecture, Lost and Found.” Pennsylvania’s rich architectural landscape reflects three centuries of cultural heritage and the new exhibit is designed to encourage visitors to “see” the built environment with much the same apprecia­tion as they do our natural resources. By looking more carefully at their built environment, visitors will take greater interest and pride in their communities and be able to make wise, informed decisions about the preservation of older buildings, as well as the building of new structures.

“Pennsylvania Archi­tecture, Lost and Found” will acquaint Pennsylvanians with a diverse sampling of the Commonwealth’s architec­tural treasures and will explain the need for their preservation by illustrating the tangible benefits of successful rehabilitation projects. Included in the exhibit are photographs and drawings of buildings which no longer exist and a collection of decorative artifacts from selected old buildings to give visitors a glimpse of the fine crafts­manship and the attention to detail once lavished on many of Pennsylvania’s fine old structures. The traveling exhibit also highlights preser­vation projects throughout the state, using photographs and models to stimulate interest in preserving and reusing older and historic buildings. “Pennsylvania Architec­ture, Lost and Found” will be formally launched at a grand opening on Tuesday, April 24 [1984], in conjunction with the Commission’s Sixth Annual Conference on Historic Pres­ervation in Lancaster. The Mobile Museum will then embark on a six-month tour of the state.

Since 1970, the Mobile Museum has logged more than 60,000 miles and has given more than 400,000 visitors the opportunity to see five different topical dis­plays. The most recent show, “William Penn and the Indians: Symbols of Friend­ship,” toured each of the Commonwealth’s 67 counties as a salute to Penn­sylvania’s 300th Birthday.

Allentown Art Museum Undergoing Major Renovation

The Allentown Art Museum’s 50th anniversary (coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the institu­tion’s present location at Fifth and Court Streets) is being celebrated by an extensive renovation project that will add 3,500 square feet to the interior space. The expansion was necessitated by the tremendous increase in visitation during the last several years, growing from 37,000 in 1970 to nearly 90,000 in 1980. These renova­tions and the accompanying re-allocation of space will also accommodate the greatly expanded staff, which has doubled in size since 1975 when a $2.5 million wing was opened.

The $600,000 construction project, which will be financed privately, will affect the older sections of the structure, primarily the portion originally built in 1902 as the First Presbyterian Church and later converted for museum use in 1959. The ceiling of the former church sanctuary – lowered from 28 feet to 16 feet in 1959 – will be opened with a series of skylights to dramatically light the relocated Max Hess, Jr., Gallery. The museum’s Founders Gallery will be completely renovated with new parquet flooring and the latest in museum lighting technology. The library will be relocated in what is now the Hess Gallery, pro­viding more shelf space and greater public access. Offices in the 1934 wing will also be substantially refurbished.

Founders Hall will be reopened in April 1984 with an exhibition of outstanding modern and contemporary sculpture selected from the collection of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. Despite the major renovation project, the Allentown Art Museum will remain open and functioning with a full schedule of exhibits and special events during the construction period. Current shows, high­lighting pieces from the museum’s collections, are “Prints from the Collection,” which will run through July 8 [1984], and “Woven Textiles,” which closes June 17 [1984]. Visit­ing hours are: Tuesday through Saturday, 10 A.M. to 5 P.M.; Sunday, 1 P.M. to 5 P.M. Admission is free. For additional in formation, telephone (215) 432-4333.

First American Editions

Important books, originally printed elsewhere but which are the first American editions, make up a cur­rent exhibit at the Library Company of Philadelphia. “First American Edi­tions,” as the display is aptly entitled, includes books from the Library Com­pany’s large collection and covers diverse subjects such as religion, economics, history, literature and science. Many of the works on display were first printed in Phila­delphia, including John Milton’s Paradise Lost in 1777, Homer’s Iliad in 1795 and Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations in 1789. A highlight of the show is Shakespeare’s The Plays and Poems, the first American-collected edi­tion of the English playwright, which was handsomely printed and elegantly bound in Philadelphia about 1795-96.

“First American Edi­tions” will continue through August 31 [1984], at the Library Company, 1314 Locust St., in center-city Philadelphia. Further information is avail­able by telephoning (215) 946-3181.

United States Army to Celebrate 200th Anniversary in Beaver

During the Revolutionary War, the Continental Army constructed Fort McIntosh on a plateau near the con­fluence of the Ohio and Beaver rivers, about twenty­-five miles northwest of Pittsburgh, now the site of Beaver, to thwart attacks on isolated western frontier settlements by Indians allied with the British forces. When the Army of the United States was created by a June 3, 1784, Act of Con­gress, the first permanent duty post of the unit then established, the First American Regiment, was garrisoned at Fort McIntosh. The First American Regi­ment, assigned to guard a delegation of treaty com­missioners at the fort in December 1784, established Fort Mcintosh as the first peacetime post of the United States Army.

The site of Fort McIntosh has been restored through the efforts of the Beaver Area Heritage Foundation, and was officially dedicated by Gen. William Westmoreland on October 7, 1978, the 200th anniversary of the original building of the fort. The fort will serve as the site of the Army’s 200th birthday celebration, co-sponsored by the Beaver Area Heritage Foundation and the United States Army, during the week of June 3-9 [1984]. Special activities and events commem­orating this benchmark in the nation’s military history will include a historical pageant, band concerts, exhibits, a parade and military displays in the community’s parks and recreational areas. Additional information regarding the celebration is available by writing: Beaver Area Heritage Foundation, 111 McKenney Dr., Beaver, PA 15009.

CCC Exhibit Extended at the Pennsylvania Lumber Museum

The year was 1933 and thousands of young men throughout the country lined up to enroll in an innovative “New Deal” program offi­cially titled the Emergency Conservation Work Agency, but popularly-and often affectionately-called the Civilian Conservation Corps or the CCC. At a time when jobs were nearly nonexistent, the CCC matched idle, but able, young men with forest conservation and soil reclamation projects. The CCC, during the nine years it served the nation, proved to be one of the most spectacular conservation programs ever established; millions of man-hours were expended on 150 major types of natural resource work projects. In Pennsylvania, more than 160,000 members­ – housed in 154 forestry and soil conservation camps – ­assisted with vital programs, including reforestation, park construction, fire sup­pression and soil erosion prevention.

To commemorate the CCC’s 50th anniversary in 1983, an exhibition of memorabilia, entitled “The Civilian Conservation Corps in Pennsylvania: 1933-1942,” has been installed in the orientation center of the Pennsylvania Lumber Mu­seum located in northcentral Pennsylvania. Uniforms, manuals, newspapers, furni­ture, miscellaneous camp souvenirs, and more than 200 photographs are featured in the exhibit. The exhibit was originally scheduled to run only six months last year, but enthusiastic response prompted the extension of the show through August of this year [1984].

The Pennsylvania Lumber Museum is located at Denton Hill on U.S. route 6, be­tween Coudersport and Gale­ton (Potter County). Visiting hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 9 A.M. to 5 P.M.; Sunday, noon to 5 P.M.

“Adam Danner’s World,” a New, Permanent Exhibit at the Hershey Museum

Adam Danner was an ordinary central Penn­sylvanian. Born in 1777, he was a weaver and farmer by trade, spoke German better than English, married and had eight children, and served as a militiaman and volunteer fireman. When he died at the age of 73 at home in Manheim in 1850, his estate was valued at less than $540. But Adam Danner is the subject of a new, perma­nent exhibit at the Hershey Museum of American Life, “Adam Danner’s World.”

The exhibit was mounted to depict the life of a typical Pennsylvania German family in the early 1800s, a period during which new machines and inventions brought change to every household. Nearly ninety-five percent of the museum’s extensive Pennsylvania German collec­tion, which is displayed throughout “Adam Danner’s World,” came from Dan­ner’s grandson, George, who at one time operated a dry goods store in Manheim, a small Lancaster County town. George Danner’s store was complete with a small museum, the core of which is believed to have been his family’s own possessions and heirlooms. On exhibit are pottery, furniture, textiles, wood and metal objects, farm tools and weaver’s equip­ment, which Adam Danner and his wife Catharine would have used about 1830. Centerpiece of the show is the family’s re-created house which was reconstructed according to information gleaned from old tax records. The original building, constructed of logs, measured twenty by thirty feet, and was a typical structure for the area at the time.

The Hershey Museum of American Life, adjacent to HersheyPark, is open daily. For schedules and admission rates, write the museum at P.O. Box 170, Hershey, PA 17033; or telephone (717) 534-3439.

Brandywine River Museum Exhibits

Two major exhibits – “Alice Barber Stephens” and “The Art of Enterprise: A Pennsylvania Tradition” – are currently featured at the Brandywine River Museum, Chadds Ford, Delaware County.

More than fifty paintings and illustrations by the talented Philadelphia illus­trator comprise “Alice Barber Stephens,” a retrospective show which will run through May 20 [1984]. Initially trained as a wood engraver, Alice Barber Stephens began supporting herself at that trade at the age of fifteen. She studied art at the Pennsylvania Acad­emy of the Fine Arts with Thomas Eakins, who was so impressed with her work that he asked her to paint an illustration of the Women’s Life Class to accompany an article on the Academy for Scribners. Eakins also asked her to engrave some of his paintings for publication. A versatile artist, Stephens married fellow artist and PAFA classmate, Charles Stephens, and for more than fifty years produced, with exceptional skill, illustrations in all media, including watercolor, pen and ink, charcoal, mixed media and oil on canvas.

“The Art of Enterprise: A Pennsylvania Tradition” is a delightful survey of late eighteenth- and nineteenth­-century inn and tavern signs, cigar store figures (includ­ing several wooden Indians), and shingles of early doctors, veterinarians, apothecaries and taxidermists. The exhibition gives much insight into the lifestyles, as well as advertising art, of small-town and rural Pennsylvania more than 100 years ago. “The Art of Enterprise” will continue through May 28 [1984].

The Brandywine River Museum is located on U.S. Route 1 in Chadds Ford and is open daily from 9:30 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. Admission is $2 for adults; $1 for senior citizens, students and chil­dren aged 6 to 12. For additional information, tele­phone (215) 388-7601.

Regional Conservation Center

The Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts in Philadelphia is one of a dozen non-profit regional conservation centers that have been established across the nation since 1968. These centers were instituted in order to help historical organizations and museums working with limited materials and budgets to make initial repairs to, and continue subsequent maintenance of, historically valuable items. The CCAHA and similar agencies provide the special skills and equip­ment an institution lacking a full-time curator may not have at its disposal.

The Philadelphia conser­vation center specializes in the treatment of art and historical artifacts on paper: drawings, maps, paintings, watercolors, posters, photographs and, recently, library and archival materials. In addition, the CCAHA provides protective storage services and a consultation program designed to assist member institutions with short- and long-term preservation planning. Members of the staff are also available to train personnel for in-house maintenance of collections and to discuss any specific problems.

Membership is open to any non-profit, tax-exempt organization for $25 a year. More information is available from Kathy L. Mallow, Records Coordinator, CCAHA, 260 South Broad St., Philadelphia, PA 19102.

Horse Drawn Vehicles at Cornwall Iron Furnace

A collection of fourteen late nineteenth century horse drawn vehicles, typifying the broad range of conveyances that would have been com­monly used in the vicinity of the Cornwall Iron Furnace, Lebanon County, before the turn-of-the-century, has been installed in the historic iron furnace complex’s former – ­and extensively refurbished­ – wagon and blacksmith shops. A permanent exhibit, “Late Nineteenth Century Horse Drawn Vehicles” features sleighs, coaches and carriages originally displayed in the transportation exhibit of the William Penn Memorial Museum, Harrisburg, which was replaced in 1975 by the permanent Hall of Science, Industry and Technology.

Vehicles on exhibit include an American Town Coach, an elegant equipage built by W.D. Rodgers of Philadel­phia, originally driven by a coachman; a Victoria, a stylish vehicle designed in England, named for that country’s queen, and used by ladies to make social calls; and a piano box buggy, the most common and inexpen­sive type of horse drawn transportation which was manufactured in Philadelphia before the end of the nine­teenth century. Featured in the show are five sleighs, a child’s hearse, and two vehicles made in central Pennsyl­vania: a fire hose cart crafted by W.W. Wunder of Reading and used by the Liberty Hose Company of Lykens, and a canopy top surrey made by J.L. Saylor, Annville.

Visiting hours at the Cornwall Iron Furnace are: Tuesday through Saturday, 9 A.M. to 5 P.M.; Sunday, noon to 5 P.M. For further information, admission rates and directions, write: Corn­wall Iron Furnace, P.O. Box V, Cornwall, PA 17016; or telephone (717) 272-9711.

Gardening Sessions at Pennsbury Manor

Gardening in William Penn’s day is the theme of a series of three horticultural sessions which will be conducted this spring at Pennsbury Manor, Bucks County, the founder’s country home. The first demonstra­tion, “Preparing Soil,” will be offered on Thursday, April 5 [1984], at 10 A.M. and 2 P.M. Pennsylvania’s first settlers brought with them English ideas of how to garden and how to prepare soil; they dug very deeply and added different animal manures, ascribing various virtues to each. Many new settlers began, however, to abandon the English prac­tices, but William Penn was particular that his gardeners at Pennsbury Manor managed the soil in the best way possible. in this outdoor session, participants will see how the proprietor’s gardeners prepared the ground for growing vegetables, as well as how they developed special treatments for raising asparagus and other long­-lived plants. The dem­onstration also offers a close look at seventeenth-century tools, digging techniques, manures and soil treatments.

Most of Pennsylvania’s seventeenth-century settlers consumed fruits and vege­tables they grew themselves. Despite the fact that they had a limited arsenal of tech­niques for dealing with pests, combined with the fact they knew very little about plant diseases, they ate very well. “Coping With Pests and Diseases in the Seven­teenth Century Way” examines the many tech­niques practiced by early gardeners – some of which proved sound while others were merely curious superstitions. The second session in this series, which will be offered Thursday, May 10 [1984], at 10 A.M. and 2 P.M., discusses the tech­niques – both effective and ineffective – that William Penn’s gardeners employed about 1700.

“William Penn’s Garden: Unusual and Antique Vegetables” deals with the many vegetables grown at Pennsbury Manor in Wil­liam Penn’s day, some of which looked quite different than their modern name­sakes. The final session gives participants a survey of the evolution of selected vege­tables, as well as Penn’s use of them and how they were prepared for eating. The session will be given Thurs­day, June 7 [1984], at 10 A.M. and 2 P.M. Further infor­mation regarding the horti­cultural series is available by writing: Pennsbury Manor, 400 Pennsbury Memorial Rd., Morrisville, PA 19067; telephone (215) 946-0400.

Two Statewide Historical Organizations to Conduct Joint Spring Conference

The annual meeting of the Pennsylvania Federation of Historical Societies (PFHS) and the spring meeting of the Pennsylvania Historical Asso­ciation (PHA) will be com­bined again this year, the second time in the history of the organizations, and conducted in State College on Friday and Saturday, April 13-14 [1984]. A special feature of this year’s event is a workshop on the arrange­ment, copying and conservation of old photographs which will be offered (through separate registra­tion) by the Northeast Docu­ment Conservation Center on Friday morning.

Dr. Peirce F. Lewis, well­-known professor of geog­raphy al the Pennsylvania State University, will deliver a paper on landscape, the architecture of nearby Belle­fonte, and public policy. The Friday afternoon session features a walking tour of Bellefonte; screening of Pennsylvania Public Tele­vision Network’s “Pennsyl­vania Journey,” a recently produced documentary with Dr. Lewis as commentator; and presentation of “Home­stead and Streetscape,” the Centre County Historical Society/Library Education’s project.

Saturday’s concurrent sessions offered by the PFHS deal with the use and interpretation of oral history materials, insurance plans, fund-raising consultants, time-sharing programs for small museums, planning museum stores and attracting new members on a limited budget. Both the PFHS and the PHA will conduct individual business meetings, but the two-day conference will close with a joint luncheon beginning at 1 P.M.

Topics to be discussed by the PHA speakers on Saturday morning are urban history and historic preservation. “The Current State of Urban Studies” and “The Temple Urban Archives: An Inside Look” will be offered concurrently with “Identifying and Evaluating Pennsylvania’s Historic Resources” and “The Evolu­tion of Center City: Lancaster, Pennsylvania, As A Test Case.”

A number of special events will be incorporated into the 1984 conference program, including the PFHS’ “Society Six Miler,” a six-mile run in State College on a marked-off course, and the opening night of Thornton Wilder’s Skin of Our Teeth presented by the university’s Resident Theatre Company. Registration information is available by contacting Carl Oblinger, Bureau of Archives and History, PHMC, Box 1026, Har­risburg, PA 17108-1026; tele­phone (717) 787-3253.

“George Washington” Series to Air in April

George Washington will again settle one of the most important questions in his career – and in the history of the United States – and decide, during deliberation at the Decision House i.n Washington Crossing Historic Park, to cross the Delaware River and attack Trenton. The poignant scene, re-created at the Bucks County historic park, is just one of the dramatic segments of an eight-hour television series, “George Washington,” which will be presented by Gen­eral Motors on CBS in the spring. The series will be aired Sunday, April 8 [1984], at 8 P.M.; Tuesday, April 10 [1984], at 9 P.M.; and Wednesday, April 11 [1984], at 8 P.M.

Production of “George Washington” involved more than 180 speaking parts, hundreds of extras, four months of filming, and a 450-mile trek from Mount Vernon to Williamsburg to Philadelphia. In Pennsyl­vania, footage was filmed at the Daniel Boone Homestead near Baumstown, Berks County, as well as at several noted Philadelphia land­marks, including Indepen­dence Hall, Cliveden, Fairmount Park and Powell House. The series is based on the biography of George Washington by Pulitzer Prize­-winning author, James Flexner.